{"id":6375,"date":"2012-04-04T07:53:18","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T13:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=6375"},"modified":"2012-04-04T08:35:10","modified_gmt":"2012-04-04T14:35:10","slug":"city-of-thornton-announces-emergency-alert-system-for-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/city-of-thornton-announces-emergency-alert-system-for-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Thornton announces emergency alert system for residents"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"City
The City of Thornton's new Emergency Management T-Alerts will inform residents of a wide variety of weather and civil emergencies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sitting at the western edge of tornado alley, the Denver metro area is home to severe weather of all forms.\u00a0 In an effort to keep residents aware of the dangers Mother Nature brings every year, the City of Thornton is set to roll out an email alert system.<\/p>\n

It has been nearly 31 years since the most destructive tornado to strike the Denver area tore through the city of Thornton<\/a>.\u00a0 In the intervening time between now and then, it is ironic that neither Thornton nor Adams County deployed any sort of alert system for its residents beyond Reverse 911.<\/p>\n

Seeking to correct that lapse, Thornton\u2019s Office of Emergency Management presented a significant enhancement to the city\u2019s T-Alert system to city council at a planning session last night.<\/p>\n

T-Alert is the existing email subscription system for Thornton residents<\/a> that can keep them up to date with everything from traffic to trash services to recreational opportunities.\u00a0 Now, emergency management announcements will be added to the service.<\/p>\n

Emergency Manager Gene Putman explained that with the proliferation of email on mobile devices like cellular phones, the system will allow the city to send out warnings to residents in a matter of seconds.\u00a0 The system was tested during the February snowstorms and was a resounding success.<\/p>\n

Dispatches can be sent out by the city\u2019s emergency management personnel or in an urgent situation, the new 911 center.\u00a0 Spanish translations to the messages will also be included in the emails.<\/p>\n

Putman said, \u201cWithin 30 seconds of a warning being issued by the National Weather Service we can have that critical information out to residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uses for the emergency management service will include obvious items such as tornado watches and warnings and severe hail or flooding.\u00a0 Also thrown into the mix will be important announcements about major snow events, hazardous material spills and other types of civil alerts.<\/p>\n